Bicyclist Wins Dump The Pump Challenge


Bus rider Bill Broker, Mayor Edna Jackson, bicyclist Jen Colestock and car rider Sean Brandon at the conclusion of the 2013 Dump the Pump Challenge.
Bus rider Bill Broker, Mayor Edna Jackson, bicyclist Jen Colestock and car rider Sean Brandon at the conclusion of the 2013 Dump the Pump Challenge.

The trusty bicycle proved once again that it can often be quicker than the mighty automobile during Friday’s 5th Annual Dump the Pump Challenge.

Savannah Bicycle Campaign member Jen Colestock crossed the City Hall finish line at 8:14 a.m., less than 15 minutes after the race began from the Twelve Oaks Shopping Center just south of DeRenne Avenue. Bus rider Bill Broker, who took a CAT bus from the starting line and was dropped off at a bus stop about two blocks away from City Hall, walked across the line 5 minutes after Colestock. City of Savannah Management Services Bureau Chief Sean Brandon, who competed in his car which he parked in the nearby Whitaker Street Garage, crossed the line in third place at 8:21 a.m.

Mayor Edna Jackson was there to greet the racers, and present Colestock with the Dump the Pump Challenge Medal.

“Once again this race has opened our eyes to the fact that driving is not always the quickest way to commute, and it’s definitely not the cheapest,” Mayor Jackson said. “I hope this encourages some of our citizens to trying dumping the pump from time to time.”

Colestock said biking is her primary form of transportation, and is quicker for any trip she makes under five miles.

“I also don’t have to worry about parking, gas, or even traffic as much,” Colestock said. “It also clears the mind and helps you wake up at the start of the day.”

Broker, an attorney and daily bus rider, said he read the newspaper and checked emails while taking CAT’s Abercorn 14 bus for the race.

It’s the fifth straight year that the bicycle has won the Challenge, which requires competitors, including the cyclist, to follow all traffic laws.


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